Davit and operating means therefor



A. w. LYDA 1,792,995 DAVIT AND OPERATING MEANS THEREFOR Feb. 17, 1931.

Filed May 3. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 17, 1931. LY 1,792,995

DAVIT- AND OPERATING MEANS THEREFOR Filed May s, 1929 s Sheets-Sheet 2 A. w: LYDA Feb. 17, 1931.

1,792,995 DAVIT AND OPERATING MEANS THEREFOR Filed May 3, 1929 s Sheers-Sheet s Patented F eb. 17,:1931

[ ms-D21 STATES- w ARTHUR-W. mm, or n on'rnoANToreoHIo, ASSIGNOR TOINTERNieTIOHAL nAvrr &

MANUFACTURING, conros i rion, A- eonronnrron on DELAWARE' v DAVIT Ann ornnnzrme MEANS THEREFOR,

v a plication filed may 3,

The invention relates to'davits such as are used upon steamships'and the like for carrying lifeboats, and to mechanism for controlling the lowering and raising ofthe lifeboats.

5 The object of-the-improvement is to provide adavit constructed 'to'provide for instantrelease orthelife boat; to provide a pivoted or hinged upper portion upon the davit so arranged that when the cable supporting the 0 lifeboat is slackened, the weight of'the boat will pullthe pivoted portion of the davit out ward to*compensate for any list in thevessel upon Which the same is mounted and allow the davit to go over the side of the ship; to 1'5 provide-a latch uponthe lower portion of the davitadaptedto'engage thelkeel of the lifeboat wheninrais'ed position; this latch being automatically opened by the tilting ofthe pivoted upper portion of the davit;to pro '20 vicle means for moving thee'ntire davit outward toward the edge of the ship when the deck when the .s'amereaches the raised position; to provide a drum having cables running to the davits of each lifeboat, said drum containing means for controlling the lowering and raising of the boat to provide means for driving a plurality of these drums in unison from one motor or the like inorder that several life-boatsmay be raised'at the same time;

to provide a governor controlled brake mecha nism for regulating and controlling the speed at which the lifeboat may be lowered; and to generally improve and simplify constructions ieea Serial to; seem".

i 2-, an end-- elevation of the same Flg'. 3,atop planview of the'improve'd con trol mechanism with the cover plate removed and parts broken away for tl'iepurpose of illustration; and V Fig. 4, ayert'ical sectional View through the same. v V

Si-milar numerals-refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

The deck of a ship is'indicated'at "1'0 and the bases upon which the davits are" slidably mounted are shown at 11, being spaced apart in pairs, as indicatediii Fig. 1, a suitable distance to accommodate the lifeboat shown generally at 12." V

Each of the base plates is provided near comprising thenormally vertical uprights'fZO I andthe outwardly inclined uprights 21 connected together at their ripper ends as 'at 22. A pivoted or hinged upper section 23 is pivotally connected to the juncture of the uprights 2Qfand 21 as at 24 and is provided at its upper end with-apulley 2'5 and upon its'rear side, at

apointintermediate its ends; with a smaller pulley 26.

engagement with the end portion 28 of the keel of the lifeboatwhich is adapted to'be normally held tightly against the bracket by means of a clamping plate 29 pivoted on a vertical 'axis, a's'indicated 'at 30,"upon the arm 31" pivoted at its upper end'as at 32 upon abracket 33 fixed upon the uprights 20.

This clamping plate is provided with air arm 34 adapted to contact with the U'-shaped bracket 35 to move the plate into clamping" position against the keel when the davit is in raised position; as shown in Figs; 1 and 2;-

' hr cket'27' is fixed upon the forward side of the davit, below the pivotal point 24, for

The pivoted upper portion 23 of the davit is provided with a depending arm 36, the lower end of which is pivotally connected, as at 37, to one end of a link 38, the other end of which is pivoted as at 39 to the upper end of the lever 31.

For the purpose of limiting the outward swinging movement of the davit, as shown in the broken line position in Fig. 2, cables 40 are connected to the base plate 11, as shown at 41, and extend below the rollers 16 and are then extended upward and connected to lugs 42 upon the uprights 20.

The lifeboat is suspended upon the cables 43 provided at their ends with hooks or shackles 44 which may be of the quick releasin type as disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,675,896, dated July 3,1928.

These cables extend upward from the lifeboat around the pulleys 25, then downward over the pulleys 26 and around the pulleys 45 and 46 mounted upon the bracket 47 carried by the hinged plate 18, the cables then extending toward each other, as indicated in Fig. 1, and being connected to the drum upon the controlling mechanism which will be hereinafter described.

The improved controlling mechanism for raising and lowering the lifeboat, as shown in Fig. 1, comprises a unit mounted upon the deck between the davits for each boat, the same being indicated generally at 48 in said figure.

A plate 49 is fixed upon the deck and provided with the upright rim flange 50 within which is journaled the drum 51 having the internal gear 52 meshing with a gear 53 journaled upon a shaft 54 carried by the boss 55 upon the upper side of the plate 49.

The gear 53 meshes with a pinion 56 mounted upon the central shaft 57 journaled at its lower end in the boss 58, formed upon the base plate, the upper end of the shaft being journaled in the cover plate 59 which is fixed to the upper end of the drum as by the screws 60.

A peripheral flange 61 is formed around the lower portion of the drum and provided with the ratchet teeth 62 arranged to be engaged by a pawl 63 pivoted, as at 64, upon the ring 65.

This ring is fixed to the deck surrounding and concentric with the base plate 49 and provided with the upright flange 66 and the annular inwardly disposed flange 67 which overhangs the peripheral flange 61 upon the drum.

A spring 68 or the like may be provided mneath the tail 69 of the pawl for normally holding the same in engagement with the ratchet teeth 62.

A pair of reels 70 is fixed upon the periphery of the drum 51, one of the cables 43 being wound around each reel. A sprocket wheel 71 is fixed upon the peripheral portion of the drum, preferably near the upper end thereof and is engaged by the sprocket chain 72 which may be connected to the sprockets of a plurality of the drums and driven by a motor or the like, whereby several lifeboats may be operated simultaneously by means of the same motor.

A pair of diametrically opposed arms 73 is fixed upon the vertical sh aft 57 and a sleeve 74 is slidably mounted upon each arm, each sleeve carrying a shoe 75 adapted to frictionally engage the inner surface of the drum.

For the purpose of controlling the speed of the drum, in the direction to permit the lifeboat to be lowered, a governor is provided for automatically bringing the shoes into frictional contact with the drum when the boat is descending at too great a speed.

This governor comprises a fan blade 76 carried upon an angular lever 76 pivoted as at 7 7 to a bracket 78 carried by each of the arms 73, the inner end of the lever contacting with the inner end of the adjacent sleeve 74, whereby rotation of the drum in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 3 will tend to throw the fan in the opposite direction, forcing the shoe outward against the inner surface of the drum.

F or the purpose of manually braking the speed of the drum, a lever 79 may be fulcrumed at one end as at 80 upon an upright 81 carried by the ring plate 65, this lever extending diametrically across the drum and spaced therefrom. A depending boss 82 is carried by the lever and adapted to contact with the disk 83 having posts 84 slidably located through suitable openings in the top plate 59 and carrying a disk 85 at their lower ends.

This last named disk is arranged to contact with a similar disk 87 slidably mounted upon the shaft 57 and provided with depending pins 88 passed through elongated openings 89 in the links 90, these links being connected at their other ends to lugs 91 upon the sleeves 74. A cord or cable 92 is attached to the free end of the lever 79 and may have its end located in the lifeboat, as shown in Fig. 1.

In the event it is desired to stop the descent of the boat at any point, a person within the lifeboat may pull downward upon the cord 92, swinging the lever 79 downward upon its fulcrum and tending to move the inclined links toward a horizontal position, forcing the shoes 7 5 into frictional contact with the inner walls of the drum and braking the movement thereof.

In the operation of the apparatus, assum ing the lifeboat to be in raised position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, when it is desired to lower the boat, the pawl 63 is moved out of engagement with the ratchet teeth 62, thus permitting the weight of the lifeboat, through ots, releasing the lifeboat, permitting it to.

swing outward. r

As the davits swing outward, due to the weight of the lifeboat, the carriages upon which the davit-s are mounted will slide toward the outer edge of the deck and the ten sion upon the cables 40 being released, the davits will assume substantially the broken line position shown in Fig. 2, the cables 40 assuming the position shown in broken lines in said figure and holding the davits in this position.

The lifeboat will thus be swung out, well away from the side of the ship and will continue to descend until it strikes the surface of the water. In the event the descent is too rapid, the governor mechanism above described will force the shoes into frictional contact with the inner surfaces of the drum,

slowing up the speed thereof.

If it is desiredto stop the lifeboat at any time during the descent, a person in the boat may pull downward upon the cord 92, thus through the links bringing the shoes 75 into braking contact with the inner surfaces of the'drum.

When it is desired to raise the lifeboat, the motor is operated, turning the drum through the chain 7 2 and sprocket 71, in a direction to rewind the cables 43 upon the wheels 70. The davits will thus be pulled back to the initial position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the lifeboat clamped between the clamp plates 29 and held in this position.

In order to provide for disconnecting the drum from the driving means, the sprocket 71 may be rotatably mounted upon the drum, and provided as upon its upper face, with the ratchet teeth 95, arranged to be engagedby the pawl 96, which is pivotally mounted upon the cam plate 59 of the drum.

I claim:

1. Davits for a ships lifeboat including an upright, a pivoted upper section upon the upright, a clamp upon the upright for holding the lifeboat against the upright, a pulley upon the pivoted section, a cable attached to the lifeboat and located over said pulley, and means for permitting the pivoted section to swing outward and for opening the clamp when the cable is slackened.

2. Davits for a ships lifeboat including an upright, a pivoted upper section upon the upright, a clamp upon the upright for holding the lifeboat against the upright, a pulley upon the pivoted section, a cable attached to the life boat and located over said pulley, and means for permitting the pivoted section to swing outward and for opening the clamp,

when the cable is slackened,;the clamp being operatively connected to thepivoted section, a

. x 3. Control apparatus for davits and the like including a -rotatabledru1n, a cable having one: end wound upon the drum, an internal gear in thedrum, a shaft journaled within Ethedrum and operatlvely connected to sald gearfan arm upon the shaft, a shoe slidable upon. said arm, and a fanblade pivoted upon the arm and arranged to forcethe shoe into 'frictional contact with the inner surface of the drum when the drum is rotated.

' a. Control. apparatus for davits and the like including a rotatable drum, a cable having one end wound upon the drum, an internal gear in the drum, a shaft journaled within the drum and operatively connected to said gear, an arm upon the shaft, a shoe siidable upon said arm, a fan blade pivoted upon the arm and arranged to force'the shoe into frictional contact with the inner surface of the drum when the drum is rotated, a ratchet upon the drum, and a pawl for normally engaging the ratchet.

5. Control apparatus for clavits and the like including a rotatable drum, a cable having one end wound upon the drum, an internal gear in the drum, ashaft journaled within the drum and operatively connected to said gear, an arm upon the shaft, a shoe slidable upon said arm, a disk slid-able upon the shaft, a link connecting the disk and shoe, and a lever for moving the disk upon the shaft to force the shoe into frictional contact with the inner surface of the drum.

6. Control apparatus for davits and the like including a rotatable drum, a cable l1aving one end wound upon the drum, an internal gear in the drum, a shaft journaled within the drum and operatively connected to said gear, an arm upon the shaft, a shoe slidable upon said arm, a fan blade pivoted upon the arm and arranged to force the shoe into frictional contact with the inner surface of the drum when the drum is rotated, a sprocket upon the drum,and a driven chain connected to the sprocket.

7. Control apparatus for davits and the like including a rotatable drum, a cable having one end wound upon the drum, an in ternal gear in the drum, a shaft journaled within the drum and operatively connected to said gear, an arm upon the shaft, a shoe slidable upon said arm, a fan blade pivoted upon the arm and arranged to force the shoe into frictional contact with the inner surface of the drum when the drum is rotated, a ratchet upon the drum, a pawl for normally engaging the ratchet, a sprocket upon the drum, and a driven chain connected to the sprocket.

8. Control apparatus for clavits and the like including a rotatable drum, a cable having one end wound upon the drum, an inwithin the drum and operatively connected to said gear an arm upon the shaft, a shoe slidable upon said arm, a disk slidable upon the shaft, a link connecting the disk and shoe,

9 a. lever for moving the disk upon the shaft to force the shoe into frictional contact with the inner surface of the drum, a sprocket upon the drum, and a driven chain connected to the sprocket.

9. Davits for a ships lifeboat including a carriage adapted to move toward the edge of the deck, an upright hingedly mounted upon the carriage and adapted to swing outwardly, operative means connected between 15 the upright and the carriage for automatically moving the carriage toward the edge of the deck when the upright is swung outward.

10. Davits for a ships lifeboat including a carriage adapted to move toward the edge 33 of the deck, an upright iingedly mounted upon the carriage, a pulley at the upper p0rtion of the upright, a cable located over said pulley for supporting a lifeboat, means permitting the upright to swing outward due to the weight of the heat When the cable is slackened, and means oneratively connected to said upright for moving the carriage toward the edge of the deck when the upright is swung outward.

"a In testimony that I claim the above, I have hereunto subscribed mv name.

ARTHUR W. LYDA. 

